Contact centre manager to client relations manager
A contact centre manager already meets 33% of what the client relations manager role asks for. The move turns on 20 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.2/ 100
1 How much of what a client relations manager is expected to do is already part of a contact centre manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the client relations manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A client relations manager role treats 8 of its required skills as things a contact centre manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- corporate social responsibility
- create solutions to problems
- fix meetings
- follow company standards
- knowledge base
- manage customer service
What stands in the way is 20 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A client relations manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a contact centre manager background worth leading with.
- already held manage customer service management skills
- already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held perform customer management assisting and caring
- already held analyse customer service surveys information skills
- already held teach customer service techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse business processes information skills
All 22 carried skills, including the 8 the client relations manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 38 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn advise on public relations required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn liaise with managers required
- still to learn maximise sales revenues required
- still to learn perform customers’ needs analysis required
- optional, not held communicate with customer service department optional
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- still to learn supervise the management of an establishment required
- still to learn identify new business opportunities required
- still to learn manage accounts required
- optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- still to learn business communication required
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn analyse consumer buying trends required
- optional, not held collect customer data optional
- optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- still to learn guarantee customer satisfaction required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a client relations manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 corporate sustainability study this
- 02 guarantee customer satisfaction practise this
- 03 identify customer's needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 22 skills that carry over
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held manage customer service skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held supervise work skill
- already held analyse business plans skill
- already held analyse business processes skill
- already held analyse customer service surveys skill
- already held contact customers skill
- already held customer relationship management knowledge
- already held handle customer complaints skill
- already held keep records of customer interaction skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held measure customer feedback skill
- already held monitor customer service skill
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held plan health and safety procedures skill
- already held teach customer service techniques skill
- already held train employees skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held data protection optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collect customer data optional
- optional, not held communicate with customer service department optional
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held data protection optional
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
19 held skills the client relations manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse staff capacity skill
- not needed by the target role assess the feasibility of implementing developments skill
- not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate operational activities skill
- not needed by the target role create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement skill
- not needed by the target role customer insight knowledge
- not needed by the target role discharge employees skill
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources skill
- not needed by the target role motivate employees skill
- not needed by the target role oversee record management skill
- not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role social media marketing techniques knowledge
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn business communication required
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held data protection optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a contact centre manager become a client relations manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A contact centre manager already covers 33% of what a client relations manager is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 8 of which the client relations manager role treats as required.
What skills does a contact centre manager need to become a client relations manager?
20 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is corporate sustainability.
How hard is the move from contact centre manager to client relations manager?
Its learning distance is 73.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.